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Wednesday, February 25, 2009
FSU roundup and other links
Considering regular season coverage has been uneven, it was nice to see the local media cover the Florida State game. Julian Benbow -- who has been a breath of fresh air at the Globe -- noted that Leonard Hamilton felt Paris was the difference maker. The Daily News rehashed Rice's inconsistent play. The Herald had more of a straight recap.
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27 comments:
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What does Biko have to do to earn more time consistently? he plays great D and does a nice job of running the point every time he is in.
Win the next two and 10-6 in the ACC, who would have guessed that? Having fun this season...
Biko had a great February. His Nov & Dec wasn't so hot. I'm glad he's coming on, we need his help breaking the press & trap.
I haven't understood people claims here, EagleInsider, & EagleAction that Jackson will be the PG next season. I just haven't seen it: the ball handling, and his body doesn't scream point guard. Great player, but better suited as a scoring wing/slasher. I think Biko slides in to that PG role, as much as you'd expect Jackson to be a starter next year.
So do you just throw out your 5 best players, or do you use positions wisely and have 4 of your best players + Biko start, and either Jackson or Raji be an energy guy off the bench?
I really hope and expect that Jackson will not be the starting point next year. He's a slashing wing and his ball handling is solid but not spectacular. After last night, I feel very good about the idea of Paris running the point next year. The offense was strong with him running things last night. I may not be remembering this right but his progression reminds me of Louis Hinnant's, where he struggles a bit in his early college career but ends up as a rock-solid, calm and intelligent leader who scores when necessary but most often sets his teammates up for easy buckets routinely.
Yeah, similar to Louis. The greatest PG progression we've seen was Duane Woodward. Totally thrown to the wolves as a freshman, it wasn't his natural position. He definitely struggled, but became a better player because of it. By junior & senior year, he was great at it. Now that's a idfferent situation than Biko, since he's a natural point guard, but it relates in that playing against good competition makes you better each year even if you struggle early.
Our RPI has jumped to 47, and SOS is now 39. Thank you Providence!
I am curious as to what BC will do next year with the Southern/Dunn duo. I am always hoping that Southern won't fall into the Dornekamp/Oates type player that is just a big guy in the middle. To me, it seems like he is never aware of the situation or what he should or shouldn't be doing.
I think Dunn has shined in some games (Clemson comes immediately to mind) but he has also been largely non existent. I wonder if Al has ever toyed with the idea of tag teaming them in there at the same time and seeing the result. Having a large interior presence could do wonders for our defense...but our O would def. take a hit. Just a thought I guess...
Wow, that is a huge jump. Good news indeed.
As far as next year's line-up, are we signing anyone to fill Tyrese's scholarship? ESPN doesn't seem to think so and I hadn't heard about any transfers. I'd hope we could bring in a forward (any forward, 3, 4 or 5) to fill out our front-court a little. I'd say the line-up is likely the same as this year's, with Biko starting at point and Reggie the first off the bench. Hopefully Ravenel will progress to the point that Al is comfortable playing two bigs at the same time, but that's just wishful thinking.
And am I the only one who thinks that Roche's absence actually hurt last night? I know he would've had trouble with FSU's bigs on both ends, but he would've given us 5 fouls and the ability to stretch the D a little more.
in terms of a starting 5, i really hope that we keep Raji as a 6th man.
Starting 5 should be:
Biko
Jackson
Sanders
Trap
Southern
With Raji off the bench as a 6th man.
This all changes if we recruit a stud at the 4 or 5.
I cant let me my man Louis Hinnant, be compared to Biko. Hinnant was much better thank Paris in his second year. Skinner had the lock and key on him, because we had Smith and a number of other scoring options. Hinnant was more athletic, a better scorer, and a better defender. He also played with much more tenacity. I hope that Biko turns out to be half the player Hinnant was.
I think the one thing that is a given is that Paris is the 1 next year. Because of the way Skinner assembles his team, with the recruits who are overlooked because they don't fit someone's ideal mold, there are a few misfit parts.
Southern- doesn't play well enough with his back to the hoop to be a natural center, but when he isn't in foul trouble, is a decent ACC role player on the front line.
Dunn- undersized PF who doesn't have the range or quickness to play much else.. hopefully he develops a mean streak like Ray Sykes from Clemson to start fighting for boards.
Trapani- gets stuck at the 4, but doesn't match up well at all size wise in the post... he stretches the defense nicely, unlike John Oates who would do so tragically.
Raji- A total wildcard. Looks like a two, plays the 3, but seems to be best suited for something else. He mystical offensive rebounding prowess doesn't translate to the defensive end at all, giving good/smart teams a big advantage.
Sanders- Built like Abrams, but plays the 2, unless Rice and Paris are on the floor together. His improvement defensively has made him a more viable option for other positions.
Roche is limited defensively and will never be much more than a role player.
Jackson has shown great potential, but I worry he might be crazy, or maybe a little too undisciplined or unfocused to grasp the flex. He has energy, though.
There are quite a few odd pegs for round holes... even though he is the best garbage man in the conference, Raji is likely to have his minutes squeezed the most to accommodate having Jackson and Paris on the floor.
I know I loved Hinnant for his solid, heady play as much as the next guy but until his senior year, he was a decidedly bad offensive player Hinnant was worse as a junior than Paris is now as a soph.
In Hinnant's junior year, he posted an offensive rating of 97.2,
a FG percentage of 33.3, an effective field goal percentage of 40.9 and a turnover rate of 28.5.
He was a drag on an offense that was ranked 20th in efficiency nationally that year. He was MUCH better his senior year and a big contributor to the success of the 06 team.
By contrast, Paris has an offensive rating of 103, an effective FG percentage of 41.4 and a turnover rate of 23.0. He is already a better offensive player than Hinnant was until Hinnant's senior year. If Paris can give us two years like Hinnant's senior year, we will be in good shape in the post-Rice era.
Frank, i dont like to be overly negative but the thought of Dunn/Southern on the floor together frightens me. The offense is often stagnant enough, that is a recipe for disaster.
I think Biko's on the ball defense is awesome, he controls the ball, good handle, strong...will be a very good 1 next year. Jackson definitely more suited for the wing. I think, although this wont be the starting lineup, Al will use a Biko, Jackson, Sanders, Trap, Raji lineup a decent amount.
I wonder if Ravenal will develop enough to take minutes from Southern and or Dunn. Anyone know if Ravenal is doing anything in practice to make Al notice him? Southern will never be the answer up front.
I think that Southern has improved a lot this year and he will continue to improve under Al. First off, he didnt see a whole lot of minutes last year. Secondly, he's got two more years of progression. Thirdly, I trust Al's teaching ability.
So long as Southern does not get in foul trouble AND he is aggressive on the offensive end, he is a good option for us right now. With more experience, maturity, coaching-- we will be very happy to have Southern on our side in '10 and '11.
Also: Southern is a good kid. He wants to learn and he wants to play hard. This isn't another Williams or Spears. Southern has great potential. Al and his staff will help him cultivate it.
I hope that Raji comes off the bench next year. He is an energy guy. He will be a great boost for us if he comes off the bench. Especially when we go down 8-10 to start the game, Raji can come in and give us easy points and get the team roaring.
HOWEVER-- Why are we talking about NEXT YEAR? This team is looking pretty good and, in my opinion, is poised for a good run in the ACC tournament and an exciting few games in the NCAA tournament.
Get on this team, people.
This is from Andy Katz's column today (Inoticed Katz interviewing Rice after the game):
"Boston College's win over Florida State should get the Eagles into the NCAAs now that they've beaten three of the top five teams in the league in North Carolina, Duke and FSU. The only two they lost to were Clemson and Wake Forest (twice). The 20-9 Eagles (8-6 in the ACC) firmly believe they can get a top-four spot in the ACC tournament and receive a bye. But to do that they've got to win out at NC State and at home against Georgia Tech to finish 10-6, and then need Florida State and Wake Forest lose. FSU (8-5) finishes with Clemson, at Duke and at home to Virginia Tech. Wake Forest (7-5) finishes with NC State, at Virginia, at Maryland and Clemson. Duke could also slide down a peg at 8-4 with games left at Maryland, at Virginia Tech, Florida State at home and at North Carolina."
I'm glad the team seems to be thinking positively about their last two games. It sems that's half the battle with them this year.
All of this talk about the game and no mention of the windmill dunk??
Aside from the fact that it was totally unnecessary, it did give the crowd a much needed big shot in the arm.
fair enough. I do hope that Al can develop him and that I am proved wrong the next couple years. Agreed this team can do some damage this year, don't think that talking about next year means that I think this year is a lost cause. Would be great for Tyrese to be able to make a deep run in his senior year.
that dunk was nuts, even better live. we haven't had many players who are athletic enough to do stuff like that recently on the Heights. i'm all for that stuff to get the crowd into the game.
Just as long as it goes in....how many dunks did FSU miss? At least two that I remember.
I have to agree that we all have not talked enough about that dunk. The best part was Sanders' execution of it but the second best part had to be how it came from completely out of nowhere. It was obvious that Sanders had noone near him and was about to throw it down but I know for sure that I did not anticipate the thunderous, spectacular windmill he produced. It was something to witness. And it definitely juiced up the crowd.
At the youtube link for Sanders' windmill is the highlight of him putting home the game-winner against V.Tech. Add in the monster game he put up against UNC and Rakim has had some pretty sweet moments this year.
Until this team shows some consistency--heck, they could lose to NCSU, just play well--I'll refrain from going ga-ga like many did after the Duke game (talking about running the table, or getting a high seed in the NCAAs).
The blog understandably reflects the passions of the minute--unrealistically optimistic after a win and a "looking ahead" mentality after a loss.
If ANY team has encouraged us to take it one game at a time, it's this one.
my two cents on hinnant...he may not have produced the offensive numbers that biko might be capable of putting up. but as long as i have been a fan (ie since the Dwayne Pina era) he has been the best by far at running Al's offense. not only that, but it seemed from early on that he had an incredible amount of poise for a frosh at the time. neither troy nor tyrese had as good a handle on it as he did. it probably did not help that they were always the primary scorers on their respective teams
not to rain on rakim's parade, but he clearly travels before dropping the windmill. (nice dunk though).
i don't see a travel. well nothing as egregious at this travel by duke's elliot williams: http://brahsome.com/2009/02/23/dukes-elliot-williams-needs-a-passport-for-this-travel/
Rakim "carried" the ball - which is never called. I liked the little special that Bobby Knight had a few weeks back on travelling. He showed Tyler Hansbrough in slow motion taking 5 steps.
Ry, you are obvioulsy entitled to your opinion but to compare Louis Hinnant's performance to that of Troy Bell is beyond the pale. Bell was probably one of the five best players in the history of the program and the team's point guard and undisputed leader pretty much from his first game. Al deserves heaps of credit for shepherding this program into just about a perrenial tournament team and threat. But that resurgence might not happen without Troy Bell bursting on the scene and playing phenomenal basketball for four years. Hinnant definitely had poise but Troy Bell had so much more of every skill and intangible that is unfair to Bell to even compare him with Hinnant. For three years of his college career, Hinnant compared somewhat favorably to Biko Paris. If that doesn't obliterate any comparison to Troy Bell, I don't know what does. Plus, Al's offense was so strong in Hinnant's years in huge part because of the consistent excellence of Smith and Dudley.
Sorry to be strident, but you severely undersold Troy Bell. Troy Bell is a BC legend, Louis Hinnant is nothing of the sort.
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